‘Hell’s Kitchen’ season 20 episode 3 recap: Who was eliminated in ‘Come Hell or High Water’? [UPDATING LIVE BLOG]

After last week’s double elimination, only 16 Young Guns were still in the running to win the 20th season of “Hell’s Kitchen.” The ultimate prize this year? A head chef position at Gordon Ramsay‘s steakhouse at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. During Monday’s all-new hour, the remaining chef-testants were tasked with replicating the very first challenge in “HK” history from 300 episodes ago — breaking down squid to Gordon’s perfect specifications. Who excelled and who faltered at this fun throwback challenge?

Below, read our minute-by-minute “Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns” recap of Season 20, Episode 3, titled “Come Hell or High Water,” to find out what happened Monday, June 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite aspiring chefs on Fox’s reality TV show and who you think has what it takes to join the “HK” winners list. Here are the current team breakdowns:

RED TEAM: Brynn Gibson, Emily Hersh, Josie Clemens, Keanu Hogan, Kiya Willhelm, Megan Gill, Morgana Vesey, Victoria Sonora

BLUE TEAM: Alex Lenik, Antonio Ruiz, Jayaun Smith, Kevin Argueta, Payton Cooper, Samuel Garman, Steven Glenn, Trenton Garvey

Keep refreshing/reloading this “Hell’s Kitchen” live blog for the most recent updates.

8:00 p.m. — “Previously on ‘Hell’s Kitchen’!” In the second episode, bikini model Ava Harren and hand model Matthew Francis Johnson both turned their jackets in to Gordon. Ava failed to impress during the alcohol challenge when she presented raw salmon and knackered pineapples. Matthew was cut after dinner service when he was caught using a meat thermometer — a big no-no. “Yes, I used a meat thermometer, but I promise I can actually cook real food,” Matthew proclaimed in his exit interview. But enough about last week — let’s start tonight’s episode!

8:06 p.m. — It’s a new day at Hell’s Kitchen, which means a new challenge is on the horizon. Hoping to test their attention to detail, Gordon pulls from the archives by bringing back a 2005 challenge, cleaning and prepping squid. But first, they’ll have to dive into an aquarium and fish them out. The first team to bring Gordon 16 perfectly prepped squids will win this challenge.

8:15 p.m. — Brynn completes the first clean squid for the Red Team, putting them on the board first. The tides keep turning as time goes by and this competition appears to be a nail biter. With the Red Team ahead 15-14, Emily delivers what she hopes is the winning squid. Antonio and Jay are standing by hoping they have the winning squids for the Blue Team, but Emily’s is approved and the women have won yet another challenge. Their reward will be off-road racing at Speed Vegas and zipping around the Las Vegas desert. Meanwhile, the Blue Team will break down over 50 pounds worth of squids, clams and shrimp. Steve opts NOT to use his punishment pass today.

8:25 p.m. — Antonio is quickly becoming the Blue Team’s most annoying contestant. He’s all bark and no bite, trying to be a leader while consistently delivering some of the worst results. While enduring their punishment, the Blue Team is delivered a pretty disgusting looking seafood sandwich on plain white bread. Gags ensue.

8:30 p.m. — The rewards and punishments are over and both teams are now preparing for tonight’s dinner service. Jay is having a tough time memorizing which garnishes go with which dishes. This concerns Steve and the Blue Team could be in for another long night. A special seafood dish has been added to tonight’s menu and will be served tableside by Morgana on the Red Team and Steven on the Blue Team. Guests begin to pour in and it’s time to get cookin’! The Blue Team is off to a poor start already, with Gordon asking Kevin “why the f***” the scallops are already cooking when they only take two minutes. Into the trash they go!

8:40 p.m. — Thanks to Megan’s scallops and Kiya’s beef tartar, the Red Team is off to a smooth start. The Blue Team is still trying to put their first appetizers out. Kevin is relieved to hear Gordon call his scallops “perfectly cooked” and both kitchens are performing well. Next, it’s time to serve up some entrees. But before the Blue Team can even put a plate together, Gordon calls them all to huddle around Jay, who he blasts for not being prepared with garnish quickly enough. Jay admits he forgot the garnish for the Wellingtons, but he’s determined to bounce back. Meanwhile, the Red Team hits a hiccup with poor communication. Someone cooks up a halibut when duck was ordered. Despite the mishap, the Red Team recovers and cooks everything beautifully. Over on the Blue Team, Gordon can’t believe his ears when the men can’t even repeat his own words back to him. He asks them to list various proteins in order, which is apparently a monumental task for this crew. Things go from bad to worse when Alex sends a raw chicken up for Gordon to serve.

8:50 p.m. — Gordon pulls the Blue Team from the kitchen to speak with them in the back. He insists that they cook with passion and dignity, before telling Antonio that if he hears the young gun call one more chef a baby, “I’m gonna get you a f***ing diaper!” Meanwhile, Alex is humiliated by his raw chicken and quickly follows it up with, you guessed it, more raw chicken! That’s enough for Gordon to kick them all out of the kitchen as he throws the raw chicken whizzing past Jay’s head. Meanwhile, the Red Team continues to thrive and completes their strongest dinner service so far. Upstairs, the Blue Team argues over who should be up for nomination.

8:59 p.m. — The Blue Team has chosen to nominate Alex for his raw chicken and Jay for his weak garnish performance. When Gordon asks Alex if anyone else on the Blue Team bothered to look at his chicken, Alex throws Antonio under the bus and says he thought it looked okay as well. This leads Gordon to invite Antonio up to the elimination circle. When Antonio denies it, Trenton’s name is thrown out. Trenton denies it as well. It’s a “chicken game” web of lies. It seems as though nobody on the Blue Team can remember who ran the chicken through the pass. Now Sam is being blamed by Alex and Gordon can’t believe it. Suddenly five members of the Blue Team are in line for elimination. Gordon sends back Antonio, Trenton and Sam after a discussion on how to work as a team. After Alex and Jay put up one last fight, Gordon eliminates Jay, stating, “After watching Jay struggle so badly on garnish, I decided to assign him to a different station, the train station.”